Trusting
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 Good morning, Lord V.O.D.: Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.—1 Timothy 4:13 M.O.M.: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 Today's reading: Job 38-40 Acts 16:1-21
Trusting
The book of Acts chronicles the beginning of the new church in Christ. The followers of Christ had to contend with opposition around every corner. What was at the root of the trouble? Pride and jealousy was pushing the biggest part of all of the opposition.
In Acts 17, Paul and Silas had to stay one step in front of the wickedness. From one place to another, they would stop, teach, and then be ushered out by the new believers before the jealous wicked could lay hands on them.
The opposite of jealous is trusting. The jealous side is always angry. They cannot trust-even when they know they have the upper hand. Jealousy can never be content because it feels someone is always out to get what they have-money, attention, accolade, power, etc.
It all comes from the enemy. The enemy knows that the human ego must be fed. Without the inner peace of God, evil is free to destroy.
The lost have no way to inner peace from God. But...the children of God have an open avenue to inner peace. The world is jealous of anyone whom they cannot upset.
Did you hear that? The enemy wants to upset anyone who enjoys God's peace even for a short moment.
God wants all of us to enjoy His peace all the time. Obedience to the Holy Spirit is peace. Time spent focusing on God is peace. Having unconditional love for the lost who try to upset everything peaceful-this is hard but peace is in this labor of love.
Peace in labor? Yes. Peace in labor-the labor of obeying God's heart and loving the unlovable and meeting the needs of the jealous and paronoid is a labor of love that has to be done in God's peace. Our egos must be emptied and filled with the mind of Christ. Corinthians 2:16 ►for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
The mind of Christ is something that cannot be explained away nor can it be understood by a non-believer-but we have the mind of Christ-we have it-the only way anyone can have it is to become a child of God in Christ.
Pride keeps a mind full of self. Humility before God keeps an empty ego and a mind full of Jesus.
Empty that ego...
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven, Forgive me for hanging on to a big ego. Teach me step to step how to keep my mind full of you and empty of me.
Kind and good God of peace! In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen